issue 22/ games/ spring 2017

Modernism is a serious business, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take a day off once in a while. Rightly or wrongly, modernism is often criticised for taking itself too seriously and being too earnest. We disagree. This issue demonstrates that you don’t need to abandon your modernist principles in the quest for fun. We take a look at Galt Toys, who made toys and games which, in hindsight, seem too beautiful to be handed over to children. How dare children have all the fun. We look at an infamous film made by Orson Welles, a serious auteur who always had a twinkle in his eye. And we look at the 1936 Olympics, where any sense of fun was squeezed out by the ideology of its hosts. So relax. Roll the dice. Spin the wheel. Pick a card, and play the game.